Virgin Media net nanny parental controls cockup
On Saturday Twitter was awash with complaints from Virgin Media customers unable to surf their weekend entertainments. Apparently the Virgin Media net nanny parental control system had gone tits up. Presumably during some maintenance.
Some Tweets for your info – then scroll down for some thoughts on the subject.
Watch out if on @virginmedia as their net nanny web safe is blocking all websites unless you have already disabled it. Sigh!
— Debs Cooper (@debscooper) November 8, 2014
Poor @virginmedia – blocking most of internet on a Sat night, but leaving Twitter online. Didn’t think that one through… #websafe
— Dr Edward Packard (@paxcyclist) November 8, 2014
Hey, @virginmedia why is your websafe bollocks, which I didn’t opt into, blocking half the internet?
— JamesW (@jwrw) November 8, 2014
If @virginmedia websafe is giving you grief, then change your DNS to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
— JamesW (@jwrw) November 8, 2014
The danger with this kind of technology is that it will break the internet. Normally the issue is accidental blocking of legit sites who carry on innocently with their business not knowing that a chunk of their target market has been denied access to them.
Last weekend this was taken to the extreme as most websites were blocked. I don’t really have a problem with parents being able to opt in to parental controls (ie have to switch them on as opposed to others having to switch them off) although it is worth pointing out that any kid with a soupcon of street wisdom will know how to circumvent the system.
At my kids’ school it is a daily battle between teachers and taught to limit access to proscribed sites. More on this kind of subject here and ‘ere.
Also quite a few Twitter fuelled posts that you might find an interesting read over at broadbandrating.
So long…
